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Wolf Kills Create Blowback For State, Conservation Group

“It's still a really difficult decision. It's not something that has come easy. So I understand – I understand the anger and the questions and how people are feeling,” said Conservation Northwest's Jasmine Minbashian.

Washington wildlife officials killed three more grey wolves near the
Canadian border Wednesday . That brings the total kill to five this
week. The state’s decision to take out an entire wolf pack is causing
blowback for state wildlife managers, and for one environmental
organization that supported the action.

When you dial the main
number for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the very
first thing you hear might give you some indication of the level of
public interest in the wolf issue.

Jasmine
Minbashian has also been getting feedback. The organization she works
for, Conservation Northwest, reluctantly gave the state its stamp of
approval to remove the livestock-hungry wolf pack. That move puts
Minbashian at odds with many wolf advocates.

Jasmine Minbashian:
“It's still a really difficult decision. It's not something that has
come easy. So I understand – I understand the anger and the questions
and how people are feeling.”

Minbashian says biologists they
talked to find it’s hard to stop wolf predation once a pack becomes
dependent on livestock. She hopes to establish a middle ground in the
wolf debate that will lead to non-lethal measures in the future.